"[NPD in its Imaging Confluence Study] found that smartphones accounted for 27 percent of photos shot this year — last year, the number was 17 percent. Accordingly, photos shot with dedicated cameras dropped from 52 to 44 percent.

“There is no doubt that the smartphone is becoming ‘good enough’ much of the time; but thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before,” NPD’s Liz Cutting said in a statement."

Famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz said that the iPhone is “the snapshot camera of today” and that it’s “accessible and easy” during a November appearance on NBC.

In June, the iPhone 4 surpassed the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS 5D Mark II as the top camera on Flickr."

Saturday, December 24, 2011

This one's failure to ignite with the great American male public is a mystery to all of us here at your favorite magazine. So just remember how Fight Club didn't do boffo business either before turning cult classic. Starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as a modern-day Cain and Abel - not to mention Nick Nolte as their dad, a grim fraud midway between Adam and God - director Gavin O'Connor's mixed martial-arts lollapalooza was The Deer Hunter divided by Rocky and multiplied by East of Eden."

Friday, December 23, 2011

Ridley Scott, the well known director of Blade Runner, Gladiator and the original Alien*, is directing Prometheus, a prequel of sorts to the original Alien scheduled for June 8, 2012 release and starring Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with a Dragon Tattoo), Michael Fassbender (of recent Shame fame), Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron.

*The Alien trilogy were directed by Ridley Scott, James Cameron and David Fincher respectively. Not a bad lineage.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The first best dunk of the preseason happened two nights ago. Fourth year player, 6 foot 11, DeAndre Jordan slammed home between the outstretched arms of Lakers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

The Clippers are the slam dunking team to watch out for with the reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion Blake Griffin, D. Jordan and newly traded for best PG of the league, Chris Paul. The addition of Paul led to this reaction video of Griffin and Jordan celebrating and proclaiming their team as Lob City. (a.k.a. there will be many many alley oops)

The second best dunk of the preseason happened over the weekend in the NBA (preseason) debut of Timberwolves PG Ricky Rubio alley ooping to fellow rookie Derrick Williams.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

"Act of Valor began as a recruitment video for the U.S. military's Naval Special Warfare Command. In 2007, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh of Bandido Brothers Production filmed a video for the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen which led the Navy to allow them to use SEALs for Act of Valor."

Saturday, December 10, 2011

According to [Christopher] Nolan Fans, "A new trailer will debut next week at Digital IMAX showings of the new Mission Impossible, and in front of the new Sherlock Holmes. The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20, 2012."

And according to Fast Company, the previously reported 7-minute prologue that will be airing at chosen Digital IMAX theaters on Dec. 16 has "been shot thousands of feet in the air, where audiences can expect to encounter this installment's villain named Bane (played by Inception's Tom Hardy) and a plane that gets its wings plucked cleaner than a chicken."

BlackBook magazine posted the first behind-the-scene photos of the filming of Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, The Master, scheduled for a late 2012 release starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams.

Anderson and the cast have vehemontly denied the connection, but the story of The Master has alleged strong parallels (or is the same story) to the founding of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard.

If you haven't, I suggest reading the New Yorker's February 2011 piece on Scientology that required 971 fact-checking question and answers and a solid week of meetings between the TNY's and the CoS's lawyers.

Good Magazine has created an interactive world map that explores "the greatest journeys" including Jack Kerouac's On the Road (above), the Lewis and Clark expedition, Columbus 1492, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and the Orient Express among many more.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

"Back in September, Will Ferrell approached the Pabst Brewing Co. and asked if he could shoot a series of ads for Old Milwaukee, for no charge. The company said yes. Three spots are now running in local TV ad buys in the Davenport, Iowa, area, and they are hilarious."

The 1,000 foot tall steel structure (the same height as the Eiffel Tower) designed by Tokyo-based architect Sou Fujimoto is, according to Wikipedia, "a futuristic tower planned for construction in Taichung,Taiwan. It will be over 300 meters high, and have eight "Blimps" that carry people to the top of the tower. It will resemble a tree trunk, with the blimps resembling leaves. The "leaves" will be able to carry up to 80 people at a time. Construction is planned to begin in 2012. Its design is supposed to be eco- friendly, using natural ventilation, and dome light for basements and museums."

French music duo Air were commissioned back in 2010 "to provide a new soundtrack to a hand coloured version of Georges Méliès 1902 silent film Le Voyage Dans La Lune (Journey To The Moon).

Discovered in 1993, the coloured print was restored and premiered this year at the Cannes Film Festival in France, with Air's soundtrack. Air decided to extend the soundtrack into a full album, which as well as Legrand, features vocals from Au Revoir Simone.

The album, 'La Voyage Dans La Lune', is due for release on February 6, 2012."

You may recognize the name George Méliès as the character Ben Kingsley portrayed in Martin Scorsese's new film Hugo.

"But here is the tricky part for the N.B.A. as it moves forward with its most potent teams inhabiting the glamour markets of Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Dallas and possibly soon New York: Will the sport ultimately benefit or bomb without superteams playing deep into June?

Professional football — wildly popular as metaphorical war, manned by costumed foot soldiers — is seldom marketed as a game of stars or even as a showdown of cities. It is primarily about Cowboys and Giants, Steelers and Ravens."

New York rapper ASAP Rocky and his collective group ASAP appeared on Pitchfork.tv's Selector show yesterday.

Selector, hosted by Larry Fitzmaurice, is like the 2011 version of Rap City the Basement. Each episode features an interview and then each featured rapper is offered two beats to perform a "freestyle." Varying from the old BET show though each episode's setting is different. Anywhere from a stoop or bodega in Brooklyn to a laser tag place in Queens.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

"America–the country that invented the modern assembly line, the skyscraper, the airplane, and the personal computer–has lost its belief in the future.

[Peter] Thiel thinks that Americans who are beguiled by mere gadgetry have forgotten how expansive technological change can be. He looks back at the fifties and sixties, the heyday of popularized science and technology in this country, as a time when visions of a radically different future was commonplace."